Is my interpretation of the Rach Prelude in C sharp minor good enough?

[galante]

So, I have been learning the prelude for about 6 months now, and I'm up to the middle section (Agitato section), and my father called my interpretation inconsistent and random noise and also said that I'm not yet ready to play it. To be fair, I only started to learn the piano a year ago (2 or more if someone stumbles on this enquiry), but I have been progressing at a hyper speed. Since my father said that, I've been obsessing over what is wrong with my playing, like, for example, listening to recordings of people playing it and even asking my father to help me adjust my playing. Also, please don't judge my father as a non-musical man who does not know how to play anything; he had a great career of opera and choir singing with the best opera singers of all time, and he also sang in an orchestra with Leonard Bernstein conducting. I would like only constructive criticism from people who know this piece well, and I don't need any sympathy (not being rude; I just don't need it). I have included a very short recording of me playing a part of the Agitato section, so you can have a listen. Please notice that the piano that I'm playing on is tuned to a half step, so it will sound off.

[lelle]

Good enough for what?

Is your recording at the level of a professional? No. But you can't expect it to be when you have played piano for barely two years as per your other topic. There is literally no point in you obsessing over fixing that because you are not going to be able to fix it. You need years of training and accumulated experience to hear what a significantly more experienced musician hears.

Why not enjoy where you are at and add to your skills over time? From that point of view, your father's comments are unnecessarily critical. I know it's common to be critical in classical music but I don't believe it's in everyone's best interest. Even if your Rach prelude is not at a professional standard you are allowed to have fun with it and learn what you can learn from it at this stage of your journey.

As for what could use improvement: your tempo is unsteady, it doesn't sound like natural, deliberate rubato that you have control over. Your tone also sounds a bit rough around the edges. On the plus side, it sounds like you already got an ear for phrasing and layering/orchestration. Phrasing could be better, so keep working and refining that.

Overall it's hard to judge and give you useful feedback from such a small snippet of music. Post the whole piece and we can give you a lot more to work with.

[galante]

"As for what could use improvement: your tempo is unsteady, it doesn't sound like natural, deliberate rubato that you have control over. Your tone also sounds a bit rough around the edges. On the plus side, it sounds like you already got an ear for phrasing and layering/orchestration. Phrasing could be better, so keep working and refining that."

Thanks for your wise advice. Could you give me a clear and well-explained way of improving the downsides of my playing? Like, for example, how to improve my phrasing and how to do a smooth rubato. I would like to have  a answer for all of them.

[ranjit]

Let's start from a different point. Listen to what you've played and compare it with a professional recording. What are the differences that you hear? If you report back, we could give you some suggestions on what to listen for. Alternatively, if you listen carefully a lot, you will automatically start to hear many things.

[galante]

Let's start from a different point. Listen to what you've played and compare it with a professional recording. What are the differences that you hear? If you report back, we could give you some suggestions on what to listen for. Alternatively, if you listen carefully a lot, you will automatically start to hear many things.

To be honest, I usually listen to recordings before learning any piece. I'll also use this strategy. Thanks for the idea. I usually listen to the composer Rachmaninov play it, and I have a recording of a pianist (I forgot the name) playing it at tempo all the way through without any rubato at all. I'll tell you how my interpretation has changed tomorrow after using this strategy. Let's hope any terrible mistakes change.

[lelle]

Thanks for your wise advice. Could you give me a clear and well-explained way of improving the downsides of my playing? Like, for example, how to improve my phrasing and how to do a smooth rubato. I would like to have  a answer for all of them.

There are a few components to this as I see it if you are looking at this long-term. Unfortunately it's difficult to give you a logical step by step that you can take, implement and see direct results. It's easier to point out specific things if you post a longer recording.

1. Develop your ear to hear the qualities you are trying to build into your playing. You can't do what you can't hear. Specifically:
- listen to good singers, good string players, or just any good player on a melody instrument that can do sustained notes (and dynamics). Listen to their phrasing. Try to emulate it, to create the illusion that you are binding notes together the same way, in different breaths or bows (even though the piano in fact is a percussive instrument with immediately decaying sounds). Listen to the different intervals in melodies, their individual qualities, when handled by good musicians. Ultimately the goal of the art is to emulate the human voice with a percussive instrument.
- play ensemble music with singers, string players, and/or other melody instruments for the same reason if you have the opportunity
- keep listening to recordings by famous pianists, try to articulate what's different in recordings which feel more musical and natural to you, versus others that don't
- specifically in your recording for reference, the tone quality between certain melody notes is a bit lumpy/uneven, which hurts the illusion that they are bound together in a phrase.

2. Develop your technique. The better your technique is, the easier it will be for your body to execute what you are hearing in your head and do the musical things we are talking about. Sometimes when you try to get increased control over musical details or force speed in pieces that are too hard, you can start tensing up, but this will only hinder you. When your technique is undeveloped, it will typically be more uncoordinated and tense unless you are one of the lucky few with natural technique. You really benefit from getting a teacher who can teach you relaxed, natural technique which makes it feel easy to play even difficult things.

3. Study theory, harmony. A lot of the "grammar" of western classical music is based on the purpose different chords and intervals had to the composers. Which chords and intervals create tension, and which create release. Which chords are a surprise, and which are expected. The underlying harmony influences the phrase. If you aren't aware of this stuff, you'll miss many things that a proffessional sees and hears, if that's the level you are aiming for.

The quickest short term solution is to bring your piece to a teacher or here and get direct feedback on some things you could improve.

EDIT: another short term solution that might bring improvement is to sing the melodies you are going to play and then try to emulate your own singing as closesly as you can on the piano.